SHAW &045; Shaw’s days of being out of touch are over.

The tiny Concordia Parish community and the nearby community of Blackhawk now have two cellular towers, allowing residents to easily make calls for the first time ever.

And that’s cause for celebration for the 100 or so residents of Shaw and those who spend time in local hunting camps. The official opening ceremony &045; the towers have actually been operational for a week &045; was Monday, complete with roast pig and crawfish aplenty at the Red River Wildlife Management Area offices in Shaw.

Gary Simpson, who has spent his entire life in Shaw, was at the ceremony serving food to about 75 people who came.

&uot;It’s wonderful,&uot; Simpson said. &uot;It’s a great change for the people in this area.&uot;

Before the two new towers, residents were relegated to using old analog cell phones that only got service, and rarely good service, in a few select spots in the area.

&uot;The reception is a lot better,&uot; said Guy Landreneau, who has a hunting camp in the area. &uot;You used to have to find certain spots to make calls, but now it works everywhere. It’s nice in case something happens.&uot;

Until two months ago, only three Louisiana communities still lacked phone service &045; Mink in Natchitoches Parish and Shaw and Blackhawk, both in southern Concordia Parish.

&uot;You wouldn’t think there would still be places without the ability to make a phone call,&uot; said John Le Boeuf, Centennial Communications’ Southeast region vice president. &uot;It was brought to our attention about a year ago. We were trying to be a part of the Universal Service Fund, and they asked if we were willing to take this on. We jumped at the chance.&uot;

The Louisiana Public Service Commission set about bringing phone service to the few communities in the state that still lacked phone service. Mink got phone service in January, and Shaw and Blackhawk got their service last week. Centennial Wireless had the cell towers built in the past few months, and the second tower was finished two weeks ago.

&uot;It’s senseless for people to live in this day and age without phones,&uot; Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell said. &uot;It should have happened a long time ago. Centennial came to the call, and it’s been good for the company and good for their people.&uot;

For residents of the area and those who pass through frequently, basic phone service has been a long time coming, but it’s much appreciated.

&uot;How many times a day do you use the phone? Maybe 50 times, and they couldn’t do that here,&uot; J.C. &uot;Sonny&uot; Gilbert of Blackhawk Plantation said.

Blackhawk is the location of one of the two new cellular towers. Gilbert said he comes down several times a month from his home in Sicily Island.

&uot;They put a tower up, and I’m going to have to go check it out. I haven’t had a chance to get out there since it was finished,&uot; Gilbert said. &uot;It should be a big help to the local people. It helps the community so much.&uot;

For the residents, having phone service is just a step toward leading normal, modern lives.

&uot;Maybe we’ll get to be part of this century. I just want normal things,&uot; said Star Warren, who lives in Shaw. &uot;You don’t miss all that stuff until you have teenagers. You want to know where they are. I want to be able to talk to Grandma.&uot;

Star’s husband, Johnny, is supervisor of the Red River and Three Rivers WMAs for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.

Star asked the Centennial staff members about wireless Internet service, the next step for residents of Shaw in entering the information age.

&uot;The Forestry office here doesn’t have Internet,&uot; Star said. &uot;Every other office in the state has a fax and email, things you need just to be able to function.&uot;

For her children’s school assignments, Star has to take them 45 miles into Vidalia to use the public library’s

computers. She’s eager to get her own access to the Internet.

What’s unusual about the Shaw system is that only cell towers are being put in, not land lines. The cost of putting lines into the area was deemed prohibitive, while cell towers were less expensive.

&uot;Historically, most people think wireless networks are more expensive,&uot; Le Boeuf said. &uot;But with the distance and geographic problems here, it was more efficient to do it wirelessly. That’s why some developing countries have skipped copper wire altogether.&uot;

There isn’t even a land line from the cell towers to the Alexandria, La., relay station for Centennial. Most cell towers connect to conventional networks to transmit calls, but Centennial had to put in a microwave system to send calls back to Alexandria, where the calls are routed on to their destination.